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Trump imposes 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum; 80% of Montanans oppose reduced workers' rights; Lawmaker says dismantling Education Dept. would harm Oregon schools; Harm reduction efforts fall short for Black men in Indiana.

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President Donald Trump approves 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum. Democrats who oppose dismantling the agency have been denied access to the Department of Education. And some places buck policy trends on sex education and immigration.

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Medical debt, which tops $90 billion has an outsized impact on rural communities, a new photography book shares the story of 5,000 schools built for Black students between 1912 and 1937, and anti-hunger advocates champion SNAP.

Iowa transportation program aims to reduce missed health appointments

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Monday, August 26, 2024   

County health officials in rural Iowa are using a new app to connect people to their doctors and cut down on missed appointments.

The Health Connector program provides transportation to and from medical appointments in Dallas County - and is geared toward people over 60, those with a disability, people who speak English as a second language, and veterans.

County Community Health Administrator Abigail Chihak said it will help reduce the number of missed appointments, that happen because people don't have a way to get to the doctor's office.

"It's an app that allows riders to schedule both their medical appointment and their transportation appointment at the same time," said Chihak. "So, while they are at the doctor's office scheduling a follow-up appointment, they can get that transportation for their follow up appointment set up before they even leave."

A one-way Health Connector trip countywide is $5, within the city limits it's $2.50.

The pilot project is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation and could be expanded to other parts of the country if it's successful.

Chihak said using the Health Connector app is helpful to the patients who need to schedule their doctor's appointments and a ride to get there, but it will also help reduce costs and improve efficiencies for health care providers.

"This also helps our healthcare teams to know if their patients are on the way, and help them to assure that their patients are going to be able to get to their appointments," said Chihak, "to alleviate the number of no-shows that they have."

The app also has options for vision impaired users who can get GPS style directions from the bus all the way to the front door of their doctor's office, even if it's deep inside a complex medical suite.



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